Under the block-lettered headline “Cry Baby,” it showed a cartoon of Newt Gingrich, then speaker of the Republican-led House, in tears, clutching a bottle and wearing nothing but a cloth diaper.

Back then, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel was a year from its debut, Andrew Breitbart was a lowly assistant at E! Online, and The Drudge Report was an obscure gossip and news digest sent by e-mail — to the lucky few who had e-mail.

But today, a fervent group of conservatives — bloggers, pundits, activists and even members of Congress — is harnessing the power of the Internet, determined to tell the story of the current budget showdown on its terms.

That’s true, but only to an extent. The liberal mainstream media is not the only voice, but it’s still the dominant voice. What power it has lost has been filled by liberal non-mainstream internet media.

It’s why reporters can collude at a press conference just after four Americans were killed in Benghazi to make sure the appropriate “gotcha” question was asked not of the officials responsible for the safety of our personnel, but of … Mitt Romney.

With only a couple of exceptions, no mainstream media reporters were the least bit interested in the utter failure of the Obama administration from Obama on down to address the situation, or to demand an answer as to what Obama was doing that night. Not the least bit of interest.

Instead, we had two days of non-stop all-out Romney bashing from the media. It was a circus that comes to town whenever an event threatens Obama and the Democrats.

While there was a conservative media to push back, it’s was like spitting into the wind. When the liberal mainstream media wants to get the job done for Obama, it gets the job done.

And it’s getting the job done on Obamacare and the government shutdown. The media almost exclusively blames a potential shutdown on Republicans, when in fact it is Obama and Harry Reid who are willing shut down the government over Obamacare.

LOL! Haven’t you been watching? The Republicans are afraid of “the image problem” if the Gov’t shuts down, really afraid. So it won’t. Obama and Reid run this country, the Republicans, save Cruz, are just bitchin’ here and there but ultimately doing what they are told to do by O and Reid. Bunch of pansies.

What? The ramblings that you scrolled on your bar napkin and posted here are off topic and delusional! If you have a disagreement with me, I will discuss it with you; and maybe you can be “right,” who knows. But what you are doing this morning is nothing more than a silly pissing match, and a very odd one at that. To be “right” you have to put forth exactly what I said in my post that you disagree with, and offer an alternative to what I said in my post that is more logical or convincing. So far you have not done either of those things. You have purely put forth fanciful exaggerations and declarations that demonstrate you are on the extreme fringe of some strange political ideology.

Here, I will help you debate me. I said that the Republicans are pansies, that they are dominated by Obama and Reid, and that they will not support a Gov’t shutdown to achieve their political objectives. Do you disagree with me?

“The only time you shut down the government is when you shut it down and refuse to open it until you accomplish what you want. But we’ll fold like hotcakes,” Coburn told reporters. “You do not take a hostage you are not going to for sure shoot. And we will not for sure shoot this hostage.”…

“When the pressure comes, the conflict for a politician is you want to get reelected,” Coburn said. “Shutting down the government doesn’t work.”

That is a big part of the problem, the surrender rhino causus, who already acepted the false dem narrative, that repubs would be blamed, and tried to pass the blame to the tea party. They should be pushing the truth, not trying to avoid blame.

Sadly, there is a huge difference. Pravda (Truth) and Izvestia (News) were directly supported by the government and made no pretensions about being anything other than what they were: State Owned Media. Here, the fishwraps and electronic media are Constitutionally-protected entities, owned by for-profit companies, pretending to be impartial organs reporting the news and seeking the truth.

At least in the Soviet Union, the people were sophisticated enough – or more likely cynical enough – to realize that Pravda reported no truth and there was no real news in the pages of Izvestia.

I maintain that in ways it’s even worse now than it was when there was no conservative media. That is, the MSM today outpaces Pravda in its propaganda (indeed, a Pravda piece about a year ago called out the US media for dishonesty which shamed the old Soviets); in effect doubling down as an over-compensating response to conservative media.

Previously, during Reagan’s term for example, the MSM merely slouched along with an everyday, prosaic bias; today, it’s not mere “bias” but a militant deceit, dedicated defamation against dissent and aggressive Narrative formation and promotion on behalf of an ideology. The more active conservative media becomes, the more thoroughly and shamelessly dishonest and vicious the MSM becomes.

While a conservative media does mean more conservatives are better informed and more aware of the MSM’s stratagems, it doesn’t translate into less LIV voters or a more broadly informed electorate. It translates into greater division, which only serves the Left. This is because the mainstream political Right still hasn’t figured out that it’s in a war or how to exploit the division to its own advantage — rather it feels a self-imposed burden to make peace, as if it must assume responsibility for the consequences of the Left. So we keep losing.

The problem, our great liability in this ideological war, is threefold, I think: 1. the saturation of leftism/liberalism throughout the pop culture, 2. the ongoing monolith of the MSM and 3. the near-total failure of the Establishment Republican party to acknowledge the reality of the modern Left and to confront it within the MSM’s own context. That is, the only way the MSM will report the story of the Right unfiltered is when republican figures confront the actual MSM on their shows and in their own world. Only by making the MSM the story, by attacking the Narrative within its own media manufacturing facilities and public relations conference rooms, do we have a chance.

As a perfect example, Romney had a real-time opportunity at the Benghazi press conference to engage and call out the media itself. They would have had no choice but to report that. But Romney lacked the nerve. He, like about 99% of Republicans, still views and respects and fears the MSM as the voice of a free press and the people, not as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the institutional left, and wouldn’t dare call it out so brazenly.

Breitbart was for total war against the media. He understood that Obama and the rest would be nowhere without the media, that the media was the true power. He was ruthless in his understanding and actions. He took ground, advanced against the enemy. He said his dream was to “destroy the MSM.” He knew, in fact, that this was the only way. It’s that kind of big thinking that wins wars and changes history. But when he died, I’m afraid that thinking also died. Now we’re just back to damage control, i.e., losing.

The left is refusing to negotiate the smallest of concessions because THEY NEED THE SHUTDOWN. Of course the right gets blamed for one and keeps getting blamed all through the 2014 midterms. Obamacare will be the gift that keeps giving if the right will just keep its powder dry — for now. In 2008 we Americans gave the left the Potus, the House and a 60 vote majority in the Senate, let us have the fruits of our folly so ALL of us cringe every time we even ponder going back to the left.

I think that the Dems may be misreading the situation here, based on how they did when Gingrich shut down the government under Clinton. Problem is first that the reason that the government would shut down would be two men – Harry Reid and Barack Obama. Reid has sent his chamber home on recess, and has taken the position that any compromises is of the form Dems win, Reps give them what they want. But, after failing to move on the first House bill, which would have defunded ObamaCare, the House voted out a second Continuing Resolution which merely delays implemention of ObamaCare for a year, similar to what the President did for large corporations. And, if that wsn’t enough, they allso apparently unanimously voted to fund the military if the Senate rejects funding the rest of the government. So, to keep the military funded, all that Reid would have to do would be to call back the Senate and put the latter bill to a voice vote, where it would likely win unanimously, or at least close. He won’t apparently even do that much to compromise – which would be to keep the military funded during this impasse.

Watched DC gun law scofflaw Dick Gregory this morning with Sen. Cruz, and at least some of the Republicans have their talking points in order. Gregory kept coming back to Gingrich, and Cruz kept pointing out that the person behind the shutdown was Harry Reid, for not allowing a vote, and that this was different because all they were asking for was the same sort of delay that big companies were already getting, and, in any case, Reid was even willing to allow the military to be shut down in order to not compromise, by refusing to bring his chamber back from recess and let them at lesat vote on just funding the military.

Good point. The repubs have been much better this time is pushing back against the MSM/dem narrative, by constantly saying we dont want a gov shut down, obama/reid do. And the constant stories about how a shutdown will benefit dems actually contribute to the narative that it is the dems that want the shutdown this time. That did not happen in 95, when many repubs were crowing that a shtudown would be good. The only repubs screwing up the narrative this time are the surrender rhinos, like Rove and McCain, who keep trying to blame the tea party.
And you are quite right that the 2nd house bill was actually a very reasonable compromise, something much harder to portray as extortion, terrorism, etc.
The MSM and dem spinners are trying to solely blame the repubs, but I think this time, the blame is more likely to fall on both sides, which is an improvement.

The MFM does more than misinform, they inspire raw hate in the poorly informed. Even educated people I know (with university prof parents) were certain a year after, that Palin’s tea party guy was behind the Gifford shooting. Man caused global warming is accepted on pure faith, brought up by the faithful any time weather is warmer instead of colder, or if there are hurricanes or a lack of hurricanes, less ice or more ice. Good grief.

One grandmother of mine died twenty years ago at 94, but even she had a raw hate for Republicans. Inspiring HATE has been an effective strategy of the left for a long time, as Orwell realized 75 years ago.

So many think FOX is the flip side of MSNBC, with all the others being neutral I guess. And all the talk of how FOX dominates news is so wrong, because they only dominate cable news, and not by much if you add PBS, CNBC, CNN and MSNBC together.

FOX and FOX business have a few more conservative opinion hosts, but their news is balanced, and I’m guessing their market share overall is something like 5-10% compared to the major networks that are more like 15-20% each. Meanwhile the power of the executive branch and most of state supported “educators” spread the word with a giggle, that it is “FAUX” that makes up all their news.

Inflamed stupid people throwing things at the FOX screen, full of orchestrated hate and rage. It could be a scene right out of Orwell’s “1984″, but occurs routinely. But social media and blogs help a lot, as stupid people get confronted and have to hide behind ever greater stupidity.

Okay, Daily News, your turn to talk. Tell us everything and you’ll be making it easier on yourself.

Your accomplice, this NY Times guy … he says you were the shooter and he had nothing to do with all this. Don’t let him make you take this bias rap by yourself.

NY Daily News: “It was him. NY Times did it. I just happened to be in the near vicinity. Ask conservatives what went wrong for them the last time the government shut down, and many of them will bring up the NY Times’ non-stop editorializing against and demonizing of Newt Gingrich and the Republicans. It was the NY Times, I’m telling ya. I was barely involved. Okay, I told you all I know. What’s gonna happen to me?”

Look at it this way. If you are stupid enough to blame the Republicans for the government shutdown and use MSNBC, CNN or Tingles Matthews as your “source” upon which to base your beliefs, then you are a Low-Information Voter (i.e. Obama voter) or you are too stupid or lazy (lazy = why Dems bus to the polls) to vote.

On the other hand, if you are objective enough to be a real independent, you’ll at least listen to the arguments.

That’s why we all must let people know the truth. Be “that guy” when people start talking about this at work. Call BS on Obama’s apparatchiks and shills.

Republicans aren’t being blamed for the shutdown because of media. The media hasn’t even kicked in their full-tilt spin on the issue yet.

We are blamed – even by Republicans, and even by people opposed to Obama-Care – because we are the ones who want to use the shutdown to legislate. Sure, Reid or Obama may take the final actions that shut it down, but they are willing to pass the basic CR, which keeps things as they are already.

That’s a basic perception. Explaining our position requires an amount of attention the average voter just doesn’t have or wish to devote to thinking about political inside baseball. Remember, our fellow citizens aren’t the brightest bulbs on the Kwanzaa Bush, they elected Obama twice. So perception trumps reality every time.

The idea that we can convince the public with better speaking skills is laughable. We had good arguments and clear speakers in 1995, too. It’s not the message that is the problem, it’s the IMAGE and unfortunately that is already set, even in the minds of Republicans.

Any plan predicated with “this time will be different” and concluding with “and then a miracle happens” is doomed to failure, period.

and that “legislation” should have been limited to cancelling all of the exemptions and carve-outs granted to special interest groups (such as Congress and Staff) by HSS/OMB/OPA and WH Executive Order.
Bring ObamaCare on-line as written, on schedule, and let the American People have their democracy “good and hard”.

Of course we will not win if the surrender rhinos already accept the dem narrative, that the tea party is to blame, even before the fight starts, and even after the congress backed off and introduced a compromise bill. Surrender rhinos like you, who already have despaired and accepted the dem narrative, and refuse to even fight it, are a big part of the problem.